Michelin Guides, known by upscale travelers and foodies, tend to deliver followers to the doors of some of the most elegant restaurants, places where multi-course affairs empty your wallet as easily as they please your palate.

But there's another side of Michelin Guides, and that's recognizing noteworthy local cuisine—places where you probably don't need a reservation.

No, that's not a misprint. At two food stands where you can eat for less than $2, you can check off a Michelin-rated restaurant. Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle (in the Crawford Lane Food Centre) and Hong Kong Soy Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle (in the Chinatown Complex Food Centre) were each given a Michelin star. The latter food stand serves up one of those dishes that is a staple of affordable day cuisine and which Anthony Bourdain called "the Singaporean national dish."

If you'd rather go for a more traditional sit-down but with supremely delicious local food, the Michelin Guide for Singapore also included Candlenut (also one star). It's a fantastic restaurant specializing in Peranakan cuisine, and it's located near the Outram Park metro station at the entrance to the luxurious Dorsett Hotel.

Check off these three Michelin-starred restaurants, and you can unequivocally say you've tasted the local cuisine.